Didn’t post about week 4, because basically, it was just like every other week. Still no changes. Last Friday, we did start doing the treadmill at an incline (so more work on those rear legs). This week, 23 minutes on the incline–she’s really kicking butt on the treadmill. We had a late afternoon session, and she was TIRED the rest of the night, when she’s normally hyper and wants to play–just curled up and slept on her bed. I could get used to that.
I’ve also started lengthening her walks a bit–around 15 minutes, but working to increase that as we’re able. My goal is 20-30 minutes twice daily, but we’ll take it slow.
This week, I’m also starting to add some exercises. Right now, I’m going to take 4 exercises, and do one every other day, for 5-10 minutes. Next week, I’ll do two every other day. Right now, I’m going to do the balance disc, cavaletti, hill work, and limbo (ducking under a shower curtain rod in a doorway).
Ticket is doing well, but it’s not the miraculous recovery of her first TPLO. She still weight shifts to avoid carrying full weight on the TPLO leg. A time or two I’ve felt like maybe she’s become tired/sore on a walk so we’ve headed home, but that’s a little harder to judge, because I’m basing that on her falling back a bit, not on a change in her gait. Her bone is still healing, and she’s still getting used to the new stresses on her knee, so I know it’s going to be ok. Still, it’s hard when she was so far ahead of the curve after her first knee surgery. We’re still on track for Nationals though, and I’m doing everything I can for her. 2 weeks until xrays!
No real change this week in our rehab plan. I’m going to increase our 10 minute walks by a couple of minutes later in the week, and see how Ticket does. She’s doing great on the treadmill–she did 14 minutes on Tuesday. She’s not having any limping, but is having the occasional weight-shifting in her xpen. We’ll have another underwater treadmill session on Friday.
We’re being pretty conservative. Our PT doesn’t want to do any land exercises (ie cavaletti, squats, etc), until we reach the 4 week mark. The first 4 weeks pose the biggest risk for hardware failure, as well as when most patellar tendonitis tends to develop. With the new angle of the stifle joint, there’s a lot of stress being put on that patellar tendon, and studies show that too much activity increases the risk of this. So I’m just fine being conservative and avoiding a setback like tendonitis which could seriously prevent Ticket from making it back in time for AKC Nationals. Next week will be 4 weeks, and we’ll be halfway there.
I’m doing one day of a local USDAA trial with Trip this weekend, and I’m going to take Ticket along to hang out. I may end up getting her final (post 3 year) USDAA measurement too–I’m pretty certain she can manage to stand still on a table, and even if her weight isn’t distributed exactly evenly, she’s not really that close to the 16″ cutoff, so it shouldn’t affect her measurement. And I’m looking at two shows as a target for her first trial back, assuming he recovery proceeds as planned. One of them is a small USDAA trial, which I think would be a good place to work on getting our groove back, but we’ll see. I’m going to be pretty picky about equipment and surface when she first comes back, since I have first hand experience with what a nut she will be. Rubber contacts and good dirt are going to be a necessity for a bit.
We shall see what next week brings…
I’m not a big Thanksgiving person. OK, honestly, I hate the holiday. The food, the insane crowds everywhere, the traffic if you want to go ANYWHERE, the stress–ARGH, can’t stand it. That said, I’ve been hearing so much complaining about every little thing lately, especially in the agility world, that I thought I’d take a minute to remember the things I’m thankful for.
First, I’m thankful to my family for recognizing the insanity that is my life with dogs. It is assumed dogs will be coming with me when I visit, that any gifts I actually want will revolve around agility or the dogs, and that it’s much easier to get me to visit if you find an agility trial nearby. And especially to my husband, who accepts my crazy hobby (mostly) without complaint, lets me travel across the country for competitions, and has even signed on for a trip to Europe to compete there. I’m grateful we both have jobs that pay for this expensive hobby–for the equipment, the classes, the trials, the gas, the hotels, the gear. The 50 different leashes that I have to have, and the dozen crates. Agility is a luxury that I’m happy we’re able to afford.
I’m thankful for all the great friends agility has given me. Some are close-by, and I see them several times a week. We encourage each other, we badger each other, we debate handling and course design. We analyze videos in slow motion, looking for the minutiae that caused that bar to come down. We stand by a jump arguing the right way to handle a sequence for 30 minutes, then time each dog to find out what is truly fastest. We celebrate the wins, and lament the losses. Other friends are farther away. I may only see them once a month, or even every few months. But they’re always there at the next show, smiling, asking how it’s been going, and looking to catch up. And a few I’ve never even met, or only see once a year at the big events. But they’re always there on Facebook with a comment, or through email, and making me smile.
I’m thankful to all the clubs who put in the effort to hold an agility trial. Any single failing will result in criticism for months. It seems now everything is expected to be perfect–the surface must be faultless, the judges giving out Qs like candy, results available instantaneously, equipment has to be exactly what each individual wants (nevermind that not everyone agrees on what that is). If one thing goes wrong, you will be reamed in cyberspace. If everything is perfect, crickets can be heard. Thank you to the trial secretaries, clubs, and workers, who diligently continue to offer shows so that we agility-addicts can continue to enjoy our hobby.
I’m thankful for the judges, who take time away from showing their own dogs, and from spending time with their own family and friends, to allow us to go out there and compete. They stand in the middle of the ring, walking the same path, trying to give each team the same individual attention. Their courses will be criticized, their calls questioned. At the end of the weekend, they will get on yet another plane, to go home, and get up and go to their “real” job the next day. It takes a special person to judge, and I’m grateful to those who continue to do it, and strive to do it well.
Last, I’m thankful for my dogs. They aren’t perfect, but they’ve each taught me so much. I’m thankful that so far, none of them have had a problem that I can’t fix. They are getting older, and I know at some point, that will no longer be the case. Ticket has had two major orthopedic surgeries in her short life, and missed more time then I think Trip has missed in her entire career. And while it feels awful and unlucky, I’m thankful that at least it’s a fixable problem, and once she recovers, she will be past it and able to resume agility. And even if she couldn’t, she would still be here and be a part of my life. I’m thankful we have the technology to put a pacemaker in a dog, so Shiner can hopefully have a few more years with us. I’m thankful to Mardi, who while loud and compulsive, still has the zeal for life of a puppy, despite the fact that her body is starting to slow down.
I’m thankful I was able to take the time this year to be trained in acupuncture, so I was able to help Trip recover from her neck injury. I’m also thankful to Trip for reminding me what a privilege it is to step to the line with a partner like that, and how important it is to enjoy every moment of every run, good and bad, because you never know when it will be your last. And I thank her for reminding me how important it is to LISTEN to your dog, and trust them when they are showing you something is wrong. Thanks sweet girlie–you’re the best partner I could have ever wished for.
Here’s to many happy runs, and many more things to be thankful for! 🙂
